Sincerely, X'ranmaia Bhaed
by starplatinums
Summary: A former Miqo'te prostitute who longs to experience the tales from adventurers she has met, she looks forward to beginning a new life as an archer. With her Auric friends, she seeks answers to her true identity, finding that she possesses the Echo, and a heart with Light.
1. oo1: Kittens (and Al

The image of the test kit was plastered in her head.

The result was...

Positive.

Oh. Hardly surprising.

Her tail curled upwards as she raised her knees to her chest as she sat herself atop her bed, and her chin parked atop her fair arms.

"How am I going to tell him...?"

She let a hand rest upon her still smooth belly, with a thought to the future they might hold. Kittens? Elezens?

... She had been a child of both her race's clans - and the very fact that she was carrying a child with a complete other race was... new.

No, most couples were interracial, it was just that... most of them decided to remain celibate, she imagined.

"Aaargh," a snarl followed her line of thought, and a deep hum tailed as she thought about her partner - a man whose smile never quite faltered, and in that fragile happiness was his strength.

X'ranmaia was more upfront about her feelings - she was more straightforward and she would rather be honest if she were angry, but Al was a special case. He smiled, even when she could tell a shade of anger tainted his heart. It was so easy, so effortless - like the way he dances and jumps with a lance in his hands.

She herself still struggled with the mastery of the lance.

She laid herself on the bed and looked to her side to find gifts from Shamani Lohmani.

A wonderful idea sparked within her mental cavity.

"I'm home."

"- Al-"

"Dear? What's wrong? Where are you?"

A door slammed open and a catgirl of a small stature limped out of the room, seemingly intoxicated. In her hand a glass of still unfinished dark liquid, as she weakly moved herself towards the Elezen in the hallway.

"Maia-!"

He moved forward to catch her in his arms and her arms slipped past his shoulders almost effortlessly, that he picked her up by the back of her knees to carry her back into the room they both shared.

"Maia, dear what-"

To the side he could see empty bottles of gifts from Shamani Lohmani. Fine wine and all -

\- lost in the body of the catgirl in his arms!

He laid her down carefully and pulled the glass from her hand, when she resisted.

"NO!"

"We need to get you water."

"NOOO!"

"Maia," an emphasis was placed upon the enunciation of her name, "Are you alright? What's causing you to drink this much tonight?"

Her grasp on the glass weakened and she looked at him with her clear blue eyes, her pupils ever so beastly and exquisite at the same time - such were the eyes of the Sunseekers.

She bit her lip, and her eyes grew puffy as she covered her face in embarrassment with her forearm, her cheeks reddening beneath her attempt to obscure her features from Al'ashar.

Ah.

"Maia, please, tell me what's wrong."

"I'm pregnant... I'm pregnant with kittens, Al! I have babies in me! The test kit proved it positive!"

For a moment he was speechless. For a moment he looked at her, before he pulled her forearm away from her face and laid a kiss upon her forehead. The forever bright smile occupied his features as he pulled away to kiss her lips, and wipe away her tears.

A questioning sound fell from her lips.

A shadow of a smirk curled his lip upwards as he pulled her into his arms, and stood to spin her around, laughter was all that he seemed to let fall from his lips. A hearty one. A happy one. The laughter of a father.

"Time to tell Mother about this! She's going to be very happy!"


	2. oo2: Noraxia

As soon as she dismounted herself from Yoshia, she gave him a pat, and a rub - to display her gratitude towards the bird. He cooed, almost in understanding of her pain.

Before her stood Vesper Bay, yet unlike the many times she'd been there before - it rained relentlessly. Her hair was soaked in the salty tears of the sky, and she bore the pain like a heavy weight in her heart - she had no more tears to let loose, just the sky displaying the sadness she felt within her heart. A big loss, but she had far bigger missions to tend to. And for now, for the last time - she would see to the corpses of people she'd heard and seen every time she walked by to head for the Solar.

This time, these voices she took for granted never will be there, and the Waking Sands no longer felt like home.

As she walked to the Waking Sands, she counted the corpses laid outside of the building.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and there was one she didn't even lay her eyes upon but acknowledged very well, Noraxia.

"... You left a little too far from home," she whispered, and carried all the rest, before Noraxia. Carrying her, and to even look at her was something she herself couldn't do. In this sense, X'ranmaia could accept her weakness - she was emotional, and she felt a certain attachment to the Sylphs. They were a very talkative bunch of critters, and they were beautiful to watch.

Little Solace will feel quieter, without Noraxia.

The journey to the Church didn't take her long, being completely attuned with Camp Drybone's aetheryte helped, although it pained her to give Vesper Bay a short, one last look.

I will soon return, she thought.

She held a hand to her heart when she walked up to the sight of the church, and she looked at Eluned. Eluned had a pained voice, his eyes never meeting X'ranmaia's with his cloak over his eyes, and the rain seemingly blowing it only to make it harder - yet Eluned stood with determination before the dead body in front of him, hardly wavering even with the brutal wind.

"You must pray at the Mark of the Warden, X'ranmaia," he said, and this was something X'ranmaia could do, all for the acknowledgement of the gods, so that her comrades would somehow be laid to a peaceful rest.

She summoned Yoshia, once again and looked at him with regret, "I'm sorry to trouble you so much for a while now. You're still a new bird."

He didn't show any understanding, but simply let her mount herself, cooing in an attempt to comfort the disgruntled adventurer.

Past the Amal'jaa encampment, and the ruins near the church, and the sprites that glowed in the night, with the heavy rain hardly wavering the saddened archer, Yoshia stopped right before a large rock, at the end of the road.

"So this is it."

X'ranmaia dismounted herself from the chocobo, giving him a comforting pet and rub, before she walked to the rock, looking at it with her pale blue eyes, and rubbing the cool surface with her right hand.

Let them rest, let them know that the Waking Sands will prevail. Give them peace, and let their bones find eternal reconciliation with you.

She kneeled before the rock, thunder accompanying the hawks in the air, flying even in the storm, while she prayed in silence, and for once - she allowed herself to soak in the signs of faith that she often lacked. X'ranmaia let the rain be the substitute to her tears, and while the gods remained silent, she stood, and thanked them in her heart, for listening to her prayers.


End file.
